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A few hours ago

The boy took another sip of coffee, glancing at the clock intermittently when he felt he had been sitting there long enough – and every time the traveller turned his head around, only 5 minutes would have passed. It was as if his mind knew when to look because Aether checked the time at regular intervals.

He felt as if time had slowed down, and his coffee kept refilling itself. The time Aether sat there appeared to be an eternity, and spending eternity with just his thoughts wasn't enjoyable.

Given that there wouldn't be any accidents, they would return to Liyue in 5 days. There would be no way of knowing when Aether could have another opportunity like this, and although he planned to somehow ask a favour from the Yuheng, they hadn't exactly built a relationship good enough for him to ask one.

So far, they had established a neutral, cooperative relationship, nothing unusual of the sort, and nothing special such as a friendship. However, from time to time, she would talk to him casually.

The boy had to admit, his social skills were lacking.

Before, it would only to take a few minutes before he knew he had another friend by his side, had multiple girls fawning over him, fighting over him as soon as he entered a room. And now – even after a whole week – he could only manage to have something akin to a relationship between two colleagues.

Although, there were two times when that wasn't true: the first when they had fought and when they had apologised. Heck, Aether could even go as far as to say that they were familiar with each other when they had argued.

It even baffled him when she apologised.

There was more to the Yuheng than he thought. That should have been a given; they were strangers that knew nothing of each other. Yet it surprised him all the same when he learnt of her fondness for children, of her guilt when Paimon had been hurt, how she blamed herself.

Aether found himself relating to her, and he was sure he was the only one. After all, the Yuheng didn't show any change in how she acted with him aside from the fact that she was willing to work with him.

People act brashly and irrationally when someone they care for is hurt. He was hurt, and he assumed the young lady was, too. Otherwise, what was that outburst for? Aether found himself blaming her, yet it was him all along. However, that too seemed to be wrong when the Yuheng had talked with him.

He found himself... forgiving himself at her words as if they were enough for him to say 'it's not your fault'. For the first time since coming to this world, Aether had felt pure, unprecedented comfort. It was a far cry from when he perceived the Yuheng as a child.

It had been both their fault, and Aether hoped that he managed to get across that it wasn't just hers; it would have been rather selfish of him to feel comforted yet not attempt to reciprocate. It was just as she said, 'I won't be able to live with it.' Besides, he had been the one who apologised first. Aether – as offensive as it was – didn't anticipate the Yuheng to apologise, but that was in the past.

Aether sipped his coffee again.

Maybe there was more change than he had thought, though it wasn't as if he had underestimated how much had changed. All that they've come to do is learn how to tolerate each other.

Aether felt a weight lifted off his shoulders, Aether felt himself relax. The Yuheng shared the same burden as him, she felt just as guilty as he did, and it took some of his pain away. Just knowing he wasn't alone in that sense had been able to do that.

Alas, that was only relating to why Paimon had been hurt, so it wasn't as if just those words would restore him to how he used to be. As if he wasn't truly alone, hah! That would be inconceivable. However, Aether did feel that some of his troubles had been cleared away when they spoke to each other.

That in itself was weird. No one the boy talked to, not even Paimon, could make him feel at ease, even if only for a few seconds just like the Yuheng had been able to.

Aether knew the reason, but he wouldn't want to accept it. Otherwise, everything would just turn into an endless loop of false hope and misfortune. He was running away, ignoring everything. That was fine, surely; boys weren't so courageous and strong, after all.

Men had fears, too. Men were just as afraid as any other living being, there was no such thing as a brave person. Man or woman, heroes didn't exist. Heroes are illusions created by people, illusions that they can run to and depend on, giving in return to the 'hero' praise for their work.

Just imagine: people putting their lives on the line to save others, and all they get are applause. That was unfair; the hero was only a living being with the same fears as the ones who weren't heroes. They wanted to scream and cry, too. They wanted to run away, too.

Those who say that giving in return for nothing is enough for them, that it makes them happy – they're full of crap. Aether was deemed a hero, but honestly, who would want to be a hero? It's why he hated being called as such. People had no consideration for those who help them, they take it for granted.

The Yuheng was different.

Truth be told, it wasn't as if she appreciated the archon, but she avoided help from Rex Lapis. At least, that's what he got from accidentally hearing gossips and seeing her in person. The Yuheng only used her vision once in the time they had spent together, only using it because of Paimon's injury, hesitation clear from when he looked at her eyes.

Did she hate the help? Was it some kind of special experience which caused her to refuse the archon's help?

The young lady never used her vision in fights, she only used it to cross the river. She never sought help from anyone, never relied on anyone. Aether respected that. The boy could even say he admired how she kept her ideals, how she needed no help, not even from him.

She was someone who didn't need assistance from the gods, from heroes. And maybe she was the hero, the one being relied on, the one taken for granted, the one who no one considered.

They were...

"Honestly... are you gonna look at me or what?"

...almost...

"Please look this way... Aether."

No, they weren't, definitely weren't. No, no, not ever. Hell would have frozen over if that happened. They weren't, and they weren't. Period. End of story. Done. Finished. Full stop.

Aether sipped his coffee again, this time a bit more longer now that it had cooled down enough that his tongue wouldn't burn.

Putting that aside, there was once a child who didn't like the appearance of him and his sister into their village during one of their journeys, they – compared to the rest of the villagers – didn't consider him and his sister heroes. Aether couldn't remember their gender, or their name, having gone to many worlds.

Turns out it was just trust issues, and they even wanted for both of them to stay. Lumine was as sweet as ever, acting just like their mom did, capturing the hearts of some boys – not that he'd ever let them have her. That's all he could remember.

That was another thing that bothered the blond. Once he managed to find Lumine – if Lumine could be found, anyway – and they had begun to travel once more, would he forget Yulia? Would he forget her face, her voice, the way she acted, what her name was, what she liked to do, everything about her? It's plausible; many companions of his from long ago, he forgot them.

Even those who had taken an interest to him, those who he had also – to some extent – liked, Aether had forgotten them.

Great friends who had been by his side, those he considered the best, some of them - most of them – have drowned in time. No, it wasn't time, it was just the amount of information he'd taken in. Aether couldn't remember anymore how many worlds he had gone to, what had been the first, or the fifty-eight, or thirty-sixth.

Maybe they had gone through a thousand. He didn't know. Eventually, Yulia would disappear along with the many people he's forgotten. It scared him, but he knew that it brought him some relief, and it made him feel horrible.

Even though he always believed in cheesy things such as love lasting forever, those beliefs were now being put to the test, and they were being stripped away little by little with every passing day. Even if another says that friendships – relationships – last forever, they were wrong.

If two friends were separated with a long distance in between them, they could never put up with that – no one can; it takes too much effort to keep the friendship alive, and so they stop communicating with each other.

If it was an intimate relationship, maybe it could work out, but even that was only a small chance. Nothing can truly withstand time. Writings made in rocks will eventually fade away, even the biggest mountains erode over time, be it through glaciers or just a small stream of water.

Landscapes change, it won't always be the home that you remember or that secret spot you would always go to. Cities, as well as its citizens, disappear; it's evident with all the ruins lying around in Teyvat. People will try to keep things alive through traditions, but those people will eventually die. Everything will eventually stop.

There's always an end. There's always the last page of a book, the last smile you'll ever have, last breath, last supper, last piece of chicken you can eat, last family member you'll get to see. Forever is a lie – a truly bittersweet lie that people can't hope but cling to.

There's only the time you have in between hello and goodbye. But turn that over and you get another point of view: storms don't last forever, pain doesn't last forever. Although the pain won't last because he'll die, the blond will keep that pain alive within him until he closed his eyes for the final time.

Maybe then, he could be forgiven.

Aether looked at the clock, taking a sip of his coffee yet only sipping air into his mouth. About an hour had passed since he looked at it, thoughts could pass the time much more than Aether presumed; it was 7:30. Seems like time flies even if you don't have fun.

The blond finished paying, quietly going out of his seat to exit the shop. He'd definitely come here again – after all, he needed to meet the God of Wisdom eventually. The bell chimed once more, wind hitting Aether's face as he stepped out again, heading for the hotel.

The traveller hid his face in his scarf, readjusting the coat to keep it closer to his neck while with heavy steps he strolled across the city. There was still some time left, and Paimon was somewhat a heavy sleeper so he slowed his pace. Knowing Paimon, she was the type to be overexcited by an event only to oversleep because she wanted 5 more minutes.

His eyes wandered again before his feet stopped still, looking at a window of a small café. It was fairly empty, but a few were sitting down, and one, in particular, caught his eye. The Yuheng stared at numerous papers, face covered by her bangs as her hands nimbly wrote.

She then halted, taking a sip of whatever it had been in her cup – probably coffee. Perhaps it had been thanks to pure instinct, but she looked his way, jerking her head lightly to gesture for him to come inside – and Aether did, opening the door as a bell chimed again to announce his entrance though no one cared to look.

He sat beside the Yuheng, who had recently been signing her signature on multiple documents, but the blond didn't care to look on what it was about – not that he could read it upside-down for that matter.

"So, how's Paimon? Still asleep?"

"Mm."

She then took out a bag of mora for the boy to take, pushing it to him after placing it on the table.

"Just to, um, make amends for her injuries. I know it's a bit weird to ask this seeing as you're her partner, but please go and take her out somewhere – I'm sure she's been looking forward to visiting Sumeru. I'll pay you again when–"

"It's not your fault, and I don't need the money – but thanks. You don't need to do all this, I told you it's my fault as well. You don't need to feel guilty." Aether pushed the money back to her side, keeping his hand on it to make sure the young lady didn't make any attempt of pushing it back until she finally obeyed, putting it back into her bag, "Didn't we make that clear already? Also, thanks for taking care of her. I just, well..."

Aether really hadn't spoken this much in a while, but it somehow felt refreshing. Because he hadn't talked for a while, the blond felt that it would be weird if he talked again since people seemed to have given him the 'quiet' personality, but it was true that he was always absorbed in his thoughts.

Besides, the blond rarely wanted to talk, anyways. It shouldn't have been of any importance of him; Aether would never see them again – literally.

"Mm," she nodded understandingly. Both paused for a few seconds, the quiet tune of a guitarist in the corner helping to relax the atmosphere. This might be a better one than the shop – at least they sold food here, and it wasn't fully quiet that it felt uncomfortable.

Maybe he could even fall asleep here; some were, arms covering their heads as they slept on the tables. The Yuheng cleared her throat, bringing up her watch as she sat up, packing her things.

"I've gotta go."

Aether nodded, and after a few minutes after she had left, the boy left as well. A ring emitted from the bell hung at the top, signalling his exit as he exited anew. Upon reaching their room, he opened the bedroom Paimon had been sleeping in only to find that she was already awake, eating breakfast in bed.

What about the crumbs? Aether had a small urge to clean it, but maybe he could do it later; the boy never liked scattered crumbs either on a carpet or a couch – but especially on beds.

Crumbs might as well be labelled a mortal enemy, an obstacle to humanity in all worlds. He could remember when Paimon had fallen asleep in Jean's office on her couch with food in her hands, crumbs on the floor and cushions. They were asked to look out for Klee, who had said she needed to go to the bathroom yet took an awfully long time to return. Who needed the lavatory for an hour?

He grabbed a seat in the corner by the desk.

"Has Aether eaten?"

"Mhm."

She took another huge bite, swallowing before she spoke again, "You should talk with Keqing more – you won't have any more chances to get to Rex Lapis, Aether. On a side note, she's super fun to talk to, and just like you, she's really good at cooking! Besides, after this – if we can – I wanna see her again."

"Mhm," Aether automatically replied. Of course, he knew that they wouldn't have any more time, he'd been pondering on it when he was at the coffee shop. At the very least, they could talk to each other, just like in the café, but he had no idea of how they could further their relationship any higher. It wasn't as if Paimon was going to be shot with another arrow anytime soon.

Aether had suspicions that the young lady only became more approachable and willing because Paimon was beside them, practically the glue that was forcing her to be friendly with Aether. It was likely. He still preferred working alone... kind of.

It was only because of that mistake which injured Paimon which had convinced the traveller to consider cooperating with the Yuheng, as difficult and annoying as it may have been before. Working with more than one meant that at least one would always need to pick up the slack, and at least one would always only be a liability.

If there really is a perfect group that worked together perfectly, they needed to have been literal clones of each other – otherwise, mistakes would always happen.

It only progressed because of an accident. Without that, they would most likely still be glaring at each other, immaturely getting in the other's way. On the topic of talking to her for the sake of talking to her, that didn't matter. It was just as the Yuheng said: there was no need for anything else aside from the matters required.

As long as he asked her a favour, she wouldn't need to see his face again – if that was what she wanted.

Despite Paimon wanting to meet with the Yuheng again, he doubted they'd even have the ability to meet her. Would they even allow him and his companion to meet one of the Qixing? A lowly escort like him? His deeds, though popular to the common folk, fell short of impressing business merchants who dealt with many things more that truly impacted the seven nations.

Defeating a dragon didn't somehow give you a magical pass that made you superior to all others, and neither does coming from another world.

Present

She could feel the ground underneath rumble, hear the stone above crumbling. Keqing felt the boy's body slip off her shoulders, the ground bursting; broad roots erupted from the ground, forcing the speeding horse to put its hoofs against the ground to stop, the stone on course to crush them turning into small rocks flung aside.

The Yuheng looked up. Did those stones just... fly? A pair of outstretched hands were visible in the corner of her eyes. Paimon shouted nervously.

What the...?

Keqing quickly spun, looking just in time to see the traveller stretching his arm in the direction of the roots by her left and the pile of rubble on her right – eyes arduously squinting before he collapsed on the road with a hard thud, a lone groan heard before the blond once again fell into unconsciousness.

Paimon quickly dove down to check on him, and as much as Keqing demanded her questions to be answered, she needed to do something as of this moment; a carriage had been stopped by what was probably Aether's powers.

The Yuheng ran to the carriage. Seems her disguise was gone now, not that anyone would even notice her at this time. She cut down, with a strong swing – better to say swings – all the roots that had appeared, soon after checking on the passengers on the carriage as well as its coachman.

Keqing walked over, letting go of her sword as it disappeared. Though Keqing hated to admit it, owning a vision did have its benefits; it's been a habit of hers to just throw her sword to wherever knowing it would go behind her. Transport was now much easier.

Before talking, Keqing gave the coachman an elegant curtsy, suddenly surprising the man atop the seat for some reason she didn't know. The Yuheng returned to her former position as he did his best to return the greeting without hurting his back. She looked back for a quick second just to check on the traveller and Paimon, who was currently poking the collapsed blond.

"E-excuse my asking – but if I may – you are the Yuheng, yes? I have noticed from the golden hairpin on your hair."

Nevermind about carrying Aether back to the hotel.

This man seemed to know quite a bit about the Qixing. Sadly, even if Keqing decided to put on a disguise, the Yuheng would always have a weak spot that would let anyone notice: the famous survival pin. Most in Liyue knew about it, and it had basically turned into a kind of badge that told anyone who knew of it to instantly recognise that she was the Yuheng.

It seems, much to her misfortune, someone in Sumeru – this man – knew of it, not that she'd ever met him, of course.

"Yes," she said, much to her hidden reluctance. "Are you hurt? Your passengers?"

"No, we are quite all right, thank you. J-just a little bump is all," he smiled.

"Very well. Beware, those creatures are more active during the night."

With another bow, the coachman took up his seat again, using his arms to lightly whip the horses in front. Once that had been sorted, Keqing called for help – which was fairly easy since a small crowd had begun to form. Now that her disguise was useless, she couldn't just continue on her way to carry the collapsed boy up the hotel. Besides, who would even do that – famous or not?

The blond was placed on a stretcher delivered to the hospital by a wagon. The Yuheng used an alibi of the traveller being her assistant, and after the doctor had checked on the blond, they told her to wait for him to wake up. Of course, there was nothing wrong with him, he was just drunk – but Keqing had enough energy in her to have the effort of pretending to be worried. He was placed in a hospital room, for some reason.

Usually, he'd be on a bed lined up with a dozen others on a side of a wall, but they were in a very luxurious room as of this moment. Part of that reason was that she was one of the Qixing, so that was to be expected. He would likely wake up at morning, but Keqing had the idea of staying here because she needed her questions answered.

And if the traveller had passed out, then that meant it was Paimon's turn to be questioned.

Honestly, if this were another escort, she'd bring them to a hospital then pay them in advance and leave them. However, they were already far from that. She had made a friendly relationship with her escort's companion, had fought alongside her escort – something that shouldn't really have happened since the escort was supposed to just sit back and watch, and something that really didn't happen when you were being escorted normally.

She treated him to dinner because her actions had injured his companion – again, something that shouldn't have happened, it was an embarrassment – and she had been arguing with her escort, something that she should be ashamed of.

And now, her escort was drunk.

It's as if she didn't know how to act her age. Would her father be pleased with the way she was right now? Did she look like, behave like, the one who will bring Liyue to a brighter place? It kept happening, and even if Keqing always believed she had learned – at the end when it really mattered, it turns out she didn't.

Keqing hadn't changed in the slightest, and she was still the little kid she had been before. This line of thought had repeated when they were in Qingce Village, and now again in Sumeru. What was supposed to be professional and clean wasn't. Despite saying everything she did was for efficiency, it had only slowed them down.

She plopped down on a sofa on the traveller's right, where the window was. Paimon then sat next to her timidly. Keqing turned to face her and the fairy winced slightly, eyes shut as if she was about to get hit. Once she realised nothing was happening, Paimon opened her eyes – only to find the Yuheng staring at her, and quite intensely at that.

The girl tightened her fists, sighing as she continued to hide her face from the young lady. It was simply a matter of time before Paimon would give in, so Keqing wasted no time in getting straight to the point; she wasn't a roundabout type of person.

"Who is the traveller?"

"U-um..."

"Who?"

If she wasn't going to get an answer, the young lady could always ask the traveller once he woke up, but she was confident that Paimon would give. After all, everyone that's seen her like this always gave up and answered whatever it was she asked. She was once told to solve a theft crime, and asking just once from a suspect was enough to close the case.

Keqing repeated the question, "Who?"

The Yuheng always hid her emotions, its a habit of hers since she had many negotiations with many people aiming to take her off the top, or just someone extremely rude. Her composure was second to none, but when faced with such a statement such as the one she had just heard, that composure took much effort to stay in place.

It wasn't anything you'd hear on a daily basis. She expected some sort of shock or massive reveal, but she was expecting something like a delusion, or maybe he was some sort of person favoured by the gods, or – though it was what she least thought possible – a god. Those predictions were all smacked out of the way, and replaced with something even more... crazy.

"He's from another world."

"Eh?"

One thought: what the fuck?

"He's from another world!"

"Y-yes, I've heard."

It was taking some time to absorb the fairy's words, but she still didn't quite believe it after her mind had calmed down. This was Paimon, a child – she likely made something up and hid the truth, probably making a mistake and having said something more mad that she had intended to and going with it. There would be hardly any way for the blond to be from another world. First off, how would they be able to come to this world in the first place?

If there were different worlds, then that would mean different types of gods, different people, different Celestias. It was a thought Keqing could hardly think to be true, and Paimon being a child was a huge part of making her doubt it. If the traveller had said it, then maybe she would believe; he's never joked with her – a characteristic the Yuheng liked about him.

"What!? Who told you!?"

"You?"

However, it wouldn't hurt to believe she was telling the truth. After all, even if only a child, Paimon still needed to be taken seriously. Even if they were only a child, they had the right to be taken seriously – they might offer invaluable information. She didn't want to turn into those adults, the ones she hated, and so Keqing considered what Paimon had been telling her to be fully true.

It didn't hurt to believe in something as odd as this. After all, powers bestowed by the heavens existed in this world, and multiple gods existed. Many treat gods to be normal and a part of daily life, but others – such as her – may question that life. Others may find it downright unbelievable. If multiple worlds did exist, there may be a possibility in which no gods ever existed, were a myth – and there might be a possibility where all of what Paimon has been saying was thought to be normal in a different world, too.

Besides, Paimon didn't seem to be one to lie.

"Why's he here?"

"Well, that's... Why don't you just ask him yourself?"

There was also the matter of who Lumine was, but another question was gnawing away at her mind. If they were already more than just escorts by now, might as well ask about him. It wasn't like her to be like this, never was – but so far, having spent 10 days with the traveller and his companion had been a breath of a quite startling air, far different from her usual events.

She had never been so curious before, it felt like she was an excited kid once more, and Keqing found herself relaxing in the short time they spent together – mainly thanks to Paimon's energetic aura. It had likely rubbed off on her. She wouldn't say Aether was annoying, neither frustrating – at least not as much as from when they had first met. They knew nothing of each other but the young lady found herself wanting to. Maybe she was being too carried away. To the boy's eyes, they may be nothing more than plain acquaintances that merely passed each other for a small moment.

Nonetheless, the words blurted out her mouth.

"Who's Yulia?"

"Who?"

Gasp!

I took more than a week! There could've been more, and I was planning on adding another scene of when Aether woke up, but I feel kinda bad for having you guys wait on the next for so long! It's just 8 days, but this is the longest it took to create a chapter. Putting that aside, if you haven't read my profile, I need to revise my plan for this story because I've gone fully off course. I've stretched their time in Sumeru out, but I believe that's kinda a good thing!

I was worried I wouldn't have enough to write about for each chapter when planning it, but since I'm behind, that just means I've got a lot of content prepared! Next chapter will likely take more than a week since I need to start making ideas for the future chapters. Hopefully, the word count makes up for the slightly late update. Anyways, stay safe and bye!

...Back to homework. ;-;